The prevalence of Bartonella, hemoplasma, and Rickettsia felis infections in domestic cats and in cat fleas in Ontario |
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| Authors: | Ali Kamrani Valeria R Parreira Janice Greenwood and John F Prescott |
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| Institution: | Department of Pathobiology, and Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1 (Kamrani, Parreira, Prescott); Vita-Tech Laboratories, 1345 Denison Street, Markham, Ontario L3R 5V2 (Greenwood) |
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| Abstract: | The prevalence of persistent bacteremic Bartonella spp. and hemoplasma infections was determined in healthy pet cats in Ontario. Blood samples from healthy cats sent to a diagnostic laboratory for routine health assessment over the course of 1 y were tested for Bartonella spp. using both polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and blood culture, and for the presence of hemoplasma by PCR. The overall prevalence of Bartonella spp. by PCR and by culture combined was 4.3% (28/646) 3.7% (24/646) Bartonella henselae, 0.6% (4/646) Bartonella clarridgeiae]. The novel B. henselae PCR developed for this study demonstrated nearly twice the sensitivity of bacterial isolation. The overall prevalence of hemoplasma was 4% (30/742) 3.3% (25/742) Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum, 0.7% (5/742) Mycoplasma haemofelis]. There was no significant difference between the prevalence of infection by season or by age (≤ 2 y, > 2 y). Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis was identified, for the first time in Canada, in 1 cat. The prevalence of Bartonella (58%) and hemoplasma (47% M. haemofelis, 13% M. haemominutum) in blood from a small sampling (n = 45) of stray cats was considerably higher than that found in healthy pet cats. |
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